He Some say looks are everything, particularly when you are talking about cars. From the front, it can take just a small design element to make or break sales. Renault has therefore updated its fussy-faced Koleos compact soft-roader with a more conventional, chrome-laden look. Elsewhere though, the French brand hasn't messed with its Toyota RAV4 rival too much. Did you click with the Koleos, Deb?

She The Koleos's bulging-at-the-edges style is not my cup of tea. The steeply raked rear hatch - what I like least about the design - seems to have been carried over largely unchanged from the previous model. On functionality, however, that hatch is brilliant, opening like a clamshell, with the bottom half folding down like a ute tray. Actually, there seems to be an all-round emphasis on utility.

He Absolutely. With cubbies and more pockets than a soldier's vest, the Koleos's strength is its interior versatility. My favourites are its enormous chilled glovebox, quick-pull levers to fold the rear seats out of the way and all those handy secret-stash compartments for crossing high-security borders.

She But wait, there's more: tray tables that fold out from the front seat-backs; a nifty window shade that slips away into the rear door; super-heavy-duty fabric on the rear load cover … and yet no illuminated vanity mirrors.

He So that's the outside and inside covered. How did you fancy the drive of this diesel model?

She It didn't win me over on engine note. That noisy diesel made me think I could be back on the farm.

He It's certainly not the most refined diesel but it's no Massey Ferguson. What annoys me more, though, is the Koleos's tune towards comfort over roadholding ability. Its body rolls through corners and floats over bumps and its steering is too light and vague for me, not helped by a big turning circle. Rivals such as the Volkswagen Tiguan and Kia Sportage are much more confidence-inspiring.

She Agreed. The Koleos doesn't offer the same car-like handling, although visibility is pretty good.

For a diesel, fuel use is disappointing, hovering about 8.5 litres per 100 kilometres on my mostly urban test-run. Did you fare any better - and have a chance to test the car's off-road abilities?

He No dirty action with the Koleos but I did manage 7.4L/100km during a country outing. Most owners are likely to stick to the bitumen, anyway, or a dirt road at best. Snow-going types can rest assured this Koleos, with its all-wheel-drive grip and flexible diesel engine, will get them to the chalet.

She It does feel compact in the cabin, although headroom all round seems sufficient. The interior looks great with all that dark leather yet the mish-mash of switchgear across the dash is difficult to read on the go; even the stereo buttons are counter-intuitive. What did you make of rear-seat comfort?

He It's pretty tight in the back for adults, not helped by those airplane-style fold-out trays. My other bugbears are the silver detail trim surrounding the dash-mounted sat-nav unit that reflects onto the windscreen.

She Hmm. It doesn't sound like either of us would be too happy with this Koleos. It's worth bearing in mind the model line-up offers choices - petrol or diesel; front- or all-wheel drive - and a five-year warranty adds value to the equation, too. It depends on your budget but I would say the Volkswagen and Kia are better ways to go.

He Similar to many French passenger cars in Australia, you might like the Koleos if you're a Renault loyalist or looking for something less common. It's not all bad news though. The Koleos offers strong safety credentials, a clever interior package, a long equipment list and warranty. And most importantly, it's priced sharply.